Tank Wall Thermal Stress Analysis and Risk Prevention and Control of Crude Oil Storage Tank

Abstract

If the crude oil in storage tank is directly heated without considering its temperature distribution, several problems will occur, namely, the thermal expansion of crude oil, and the uneven thickness of the condensate layer, bringing difficulty to the safe management of crude oil storage and transport. However, few scholars have analyzed the temperature field distribution of crude oil storage tank (COST) under heating, or the internal force of COST under static force. Thus, this paper probes into the thermal stress of tank wall, and the risk prevention and control of COST. Firstly, the heat transfer properties of COST were analyzed, an energy balance model was constructed for COST, and several variables were selected to evaluate the heat transfer effect of the tank under different heating modes, including thermal design power, temperature rise rate, and heat energy utilization rate. Next, the cross-section of COST wall was selected for thermal stress analysis. Based on the extremes of circumferential and vertical thermal stresses, the weak parts of COST susceptible to risks like leakage were determined, and several measures and suggestions were presented for reducing the risks of crude oil storage and transport.